Organizations such as on-line retailers, Internet service providers, search providers, financial institutions, universities, and other computing-intensive organizations often conduct computer operations from large scale computing facilities. Such computing facilities house and accommodate a large amount of server, network, and computer equipment to process, store, and exchange data as needed to carry out an organization's operations. Typically, a computer room of a computing facility includes many server racks. Each server rack, in turn, includes many servers and associated computer equipment.
Computer systems typically include a number of components that generate waste heat. Such components include printed circuit boards, mass storage devices, power supplies, and processors. For example, some computers with multiple processors may generate 250 watts of waste heat. Some known computer systems include a plurality of such larger, multiple-processor computers that are configured into rack-mounted components, and then are subsequently positioned within a racking system. Some known racking systems include 40 such rack-mounted components and such racking systems will therefore generate as much as 10 kilowatts of waste heat. Moreover, some known data centers include a plurality of such racking systems. Some known data centers include methods and apparatus that facilitate waste heat removal from a plurality of racking systems, typically by circulating air through one or more of the rack systems.
Many data centers rely on forced air systems and air conditioning systems to maintain the temperatures and other environmental conditions in their data centers within acceptable limits. The initial and ongoing costs of installing and operating these systems may add substantial cost and complexity to data center operations.
The amount of computing capacity needed for any given data center may change rapidly as business needs dictate. Most often, there is a need for increased computing capacity at a location. Many data centers may require significant changes to HVAC systems in order to accommodate additional computing capacity to be installed at a data center location. Other data centers may include HVAC capacity capable of supporting a fully utilized data center even though initially only a portion of the data center may be utilized. Thus capital and operating costs may be tied up in providing and supporting HVAC capacity that is not necessary to support current data center operations. Re-configuring existing HVAC capacity to accommodate additional computing capacity at a data center location or oversupplying HVAC capacity may add substantial costs to data center operations.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.